Welcome to Digitally Literate, issue #383. Your go-to source for insightful content on education, technology, and the digital landscape.
Not Hanging Around The Nazi Bar
The newsletter platform Substack, known for promoting civility on the internet, is facing criticism for its lax content moderation, which has allowed white supremacist and anti-Semitic content to thrive on the platform. In response, the company said it would not ban Nazi symbols or extremist rhetoric so long as newsletter writers do not incite violence. Read more.
I started dabbling with moving this newsletter to Substack last year and am still posting using MailPoet. I opened up my feed reader this week and fell into a wormhole thanks to Laura Hilliger’s latest issue of Freshly Brewed Thoughts. If you don’t understand the Nazi Bar reference, check out Ben Werdmuller’s post.
I have much to say about this topic, but I’ll stop posting to Substack for now. I’d also check out what Audrey Watters and Doug Belshaw are doing.
Emerging Resistance to Innovation
Cal Newport indicates that as technology accelerates, we need to stop accepting the bad consequences along with the good ones. “Innovation and increased efficiency become the unchallenged mechanisms of progress, while any doubts about the imperative to accommodate the shiny and new are marginalized.” Read more.
Diana Enríquez prioritizes a partnership between humans and machines rather than strict automation. Explore. While you’re at it, make sure you click on Diana’s website, it’s awesome.
Making the Internet Weird Again?
Anil Dash posits that while there will still be challenges and negative aspects of the internet, the emergence of new, human-scale experiences will make the internet weirder and more diverse. Read more.
Despite negative headlines and growing concerns about social media’s impact on youth, teens continue to use these platforms at high rates – with some describing their social media use as “almost constant.” TikTok, Snapchat, BeReal, and Instagram are still up. Facebook and X…less so. Explore.
Working The Curves
Our lives are not a straight line. This is narrative – it’s how we’ve communicated with each other and, crucially, with ourselves ever since we’ve been able to. Read more about how to handle s-curves in life.
At the end of last year, I spent much time breaking up with different initiatives. I wanted to focus on something to the exclusion of other projects. Work on only one thing, concentrating your effort. Do not try to build ten houses one brick at a time, pick a house and lay ten bricks there instead.
Life is not a problem to be solved. It’s a paradox to experience. You can believe one thing and also believe its opposite.
Derek Sivers
Thank you for being a part of Digitally Literate. Stay tuned for more insights and discussions. Reach out at hello@digitallyliterate.net or connect on social media.
Cover Photo CC BY using Playground AI